1. Field of the Invention
The present invention concerns a method for acquisition, analysis and representation of at least one medical image data set to be created in the examination of a subject.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In medical imaging, the image orientation and position are generally determined by the type and manner of the image acquisition, thus by geometric measurement parameters or the patient position or by parameters that are used for the image reconstruction. In the context of the image reconstruction, the tomographic sections of the subject are ultimately determined that are stored in a databank, for example a central image archive.
If the images are subsequently viewed, this normally ensues with the same sequences as they are stored in the databank. This means that, after the loading of an image series into an image display (such as a computer or monitor), initially the first image or in some cases initially a middle image is shown. This can lead to the situation, for example in the imaging representation of a sagittal acquisition series of the spinal column, that the first section shows the foramina of the spinal column to the left while, in a second series (for example in the context of a subsequent examination), the first image shows the right-side foramina. Also, if there is a standardized workflow for medical assessment of image exposures of specific examination regions in an examination apparatus, it is necessary for the examiner to initially search the image exposure series in order to find the standard starting point. In the implementation of subsequent examinations, or in general in a comparative evaluation, the problem is further exacerbated because, when two image series are loaded from an image archive, the two image series both showing the same organ, normally a different view of this organ is shown in each series, such that (for example given a spinal column exposure) the left-side foramina are shown and, in another series, the right-side foramina are shown. This makes the evaluation of comparative studies and subsequent examinations not only very difficult and cumbersome to implement, but also the efficiency suffers, such that under the circumstances the quality of the diagnostic evaluation decreases.